Many “reclining” chairs have a seat and a reclining backrest that may be reclined to position a user in a more prone position for increased user comfort. Such reclining is particularly useful when the chair is a massage chair having one or more massaging devices. In such a case, when a user reclines the backrest of the chair, the user's weight distribution against the chair is altered, thus altering the massaging effect that is felt by the user. When so positioned, a larger portion of the user's weight is supported by the backrest and hence a massaging force transferred from a massaging device in the backrest to the user is increased.
However, typically the seat of such reclining chairs is generally horizontally positioned, approximately parallel to a ground surface, and is not angularly movable. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved reclining or articulating chair having a seat and a backrest that are each rotatable for increased user comfort.
In one embodiment according to the present invention, a generally horizontal seat of a chair rotates towards a more inclined position during a rotation of a backrest from a generally vertical position to a more prone position. This motion allows a user's legs to be rotated towards the backrest of the chair, causing the user's back to be less stretched out when the backrest is rotated to a more prone position, thus increasing user comfort. In addition, when such a chair is a massage chair the rotation of both the seat and the backrest allows for an altering of the weight distribution of the user against the chair and hence an altering of the massaging force transferred from the chair to the user.